Why do atheists inspire such hatred?

The question, "Why do atheists inspire such hatred?" was the on-screen title of a televised discussion segment[1] hosted by Paula Zahn, which aired on CNN on Jan 31, 2007. The discussion followed a prerecorded piece[2] about two atheist families who say they were discriminated against because of their beliefs (or lack thereof).

The segment

The panelists, all of whom were theists (two Christians and a Jew), included:

Although some reasonable statements were made, each panelist raised several points that were clearly incorrect or misleading, or based on various fallacies. The following remarks are paraphrased in many cases, but try to adhere to the intent of the speakers.

"Obnoxious" Michael Newdow took his Pledge of Allegiance case to the Supreme Court, while his child [on whose behalf the case was brought] "didn't know what was going on". [In fact, Newdow won in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, so it was the school district who appealed the case to the Supreme Court.]

In Europe, there are more atheists, they have "lost God", and "the Church is not that strong".

Atheists want to take "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance, saying that's a Christian thing, but what if you're a Muslim? What if you're somebody of a different belief? If we're "inclusionary", why don't we include all things? But we're not, and that's my point. [The exact argument being presented here is not clear, but it should be pointed out that while the phrase "under God" was originally supposed to refer to the Christian god, in fact Jews, Muslims and Christians all worship the same god.]

During the latter stages of the discussion, a wall-sized monitor in the background was displaying the question, "Are atheist tactics too militant?"

Discussion

As pointed out by Matt Dillahunty on The Non-Prophets, instead of "Why do atheists inspire such hatred?", the question should have been phrased, "Why do some people hate atheists?"

Atheism doesn't "inspire" hatred. In fact, atheism doesn't have anything to do with hatred or love, war or peace. It is simply rejection of theist claims.

Some atheists do in fact unleash "hate" against theists, but that is not part of the "teachings" of atheism (mainly because there are no teachings), and such atheists are not acting on their "atheist beliefs" (i.e., the lack of belief in any gods) but upon other beliefs separate from, but perhaps compatible with their atheism.

On the other hand, one could easily turn the question around and ask, "Why does religion inspire such hatred?" This question not only makes more sense than the original one, it has several possible answers:

Indoctrination

Religious forms of nationalism

Divisiveness and sectarianism

Competition

Prejudice

Religion has spread a lot of hate not only around the globe, but also down the generations. Not only are atheists targeted, but other theists who do not share the beliefs of other theists. (In fact, the minority theist group is often labeled as "atheists" by the dominant one.)